AppearanceIn appearance, these dragons are brown by default, while also being the smallest in size. They have a large wing span, spines lining their backbone, and their tail ends in a spaded tip. Other than that, they sport a relatively rudimentary design, and are quite basic.

HistoryOn Akavir, the Tsaesci attempted to 'consume' the brown dragons, and drove the dragons to the Empire of Po Tun. This led to a war between the Ka'Po'Tuns and the Tsaesci. During that war, the Tsaesci killed most of the dragons. These dragons are now among the breeds appearing in Skyrim as a result of the return of Alduin.

Blood Dragon

AppearanceBlood Dragons look radically different from the default Brown Dragon. They are green in appearance, and are slightly larger in mass, with a more intimidating body design. On their back, they have a small sail, reminiscent of a Spinosaurus, and their tails, instead of the regular spade shape, are designed to look much like their spine, with a sail-like design, all ending in a sharp ended tip.The Blood Dragons also have a unique skull formation, being more rounded, before pointing off at the jaw. They have a frill on the back of their skulls, which has no purpose, and their eyes, unlike other dragons, have pupils which are pointed sideways, making them look a little more unsettling in appearance

Frost Dragon

AppearanceFrost Dragons possess a rather similar appearance to the Brown Dragon. They are, however, larger, even more so than the Blood Dragon, with an even larger, more noticeable row of spines on their backbone.They have a white colored body, with mixes of black and grey all over the body. Lastly, their tails go back to the more primitive design of the Brown Dragon, with a spaded tip, albeit larger.

VarietiesFrost Dragons may appear randomly in colder areas at lower levels. An example of this is at Sky Haven Temple. Characters who reach this location before the quest Alduin's Wall have been known to encounter weak versions of Frost Dragons, named simply Dragon. In some instances, the dragon encountered at Sky Haven Temple is named Frost Dragon explicitly. There is evidence of there being Frost Dragons in the fact that they primarily use Frost Breath, and the spikes on their backs.

Elder Dragon

Elder Dragons are a type of dragon in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Their health pools and attack damage are considerably higher than the basic Fire Dragon and Frost Dragons. Elder dragons can use both Fire Breath and Frost Breath.They are considered middle-class compared to other dragons, the strongest being the Legendary Dragon and the weakest being a Brown Dragon.

AppearanceThese dragons undergo a massive change in design from Frost to Elder. Not only are they larger, and obviously more intimidating, but they feature a more noticeable bronze colored body, with spots of black dotting the skin. Instead of a row of spines, or a sail, these dragons have a mere row of bony bumps dotting their spine, however, they essentially trade that for a meaner, more aggressive looking facial structure. They have two massive, curved horns on their heads, with a more angular, pointy face.

Lastly, these dragons also possess the regular spaded tail that the Brown and Frost dragons also have.

Ancient Dragon

The Ancient Dragons in Skyrim are some of the oldest and most resilient dragons your character can encounter. They are not something to be taken lightly.

AppearanceIn terms of overall appearance, these dragons possess a similar look to Elder Dragons, except they possess a color change, being more tan and pink in color, rather than bronze and yellow. The black splotches still remain on the dragon, and are noticeable on the head crests, wings, and tail.These dragons have a more spiny back, with a seeming triple row of small, stubby spikes, lining down the spine, to the tail. In terms of size, these dragons are the largest, barring Legendary variants, and they, like others, possess a spaded tail.

Revered Dragon

AppearanceThey are orange with blue dorsal markings, and have wide, flat ridges that run the length of their body and tail, beginning at the back of their skull. Revered dragons have beaked avian mouths and a distinct lack of teeth, which sets them apart from the rest of their kin. They also have large, lidless goat-like eyes, which are larger than those of most other dragons.

Legendary Dragon

AppearanceUnlike other breeds of dragon, legendary dragons have distinctive thick, curved horns. They have a black and purple scale color. They are also unique in having what appears to be compound eyes, formed of multiple "eyes" in a single socket.

CombatThe legendary dragon behaves like any other dragon in combat. It attacks with Fire or Frost Breath, and may sometimes land either on its own accord or because of the Dragonrend shout. Along with the Revered Dragon, it uses the Drain Vitality Shout.

Serpentine Dragon

AppearanceUnlike other dragons, a serpentine dragon's head resembles that of a snake, hence its name. Furthermore, their scales are much smoother and finer than those of other dragons and they have a pronounced underbite.

Not much else is to be said about Serpentine Dragon's due to their rarity and being hard to kill.